Werewolves on a Train
by thegreenblue
Summary: Remus Lupin leaves his parents behind on Platform 9 3/4 to board the train for his first year at Hogwarts. Needless to say, the ride is anything but the quiet, reserved one he had counted on. (One shot but could be more)


**Welcome to this piece of unedited literature - yea, unedited. I haven't even read through this. It started off as a warm up, and eventually turned into a 3,000 word MASTERPIECE. Haha, i'm just kidding of course, this is the opposite of what I'd call a masterpiece;)**

 **But I hope you enjoy it thoroughly anyways, and review.**

 **Ps: I am more than aware that some of this is inaccurate to Pottermore, I took creative liberties. No need to point out any mistakes... I am aware of them all! (unless they are grammar, then of course, tell me)**

 **I own nothing**

The first thing that Remus Lupin noticed when he burst through the barrier onto Platform 9 ¾ was that he was different. No one else on the platform was as thin or as scared as he was. It made his head spin.

His father joined him next, followed by his mother, who looked around with interest. She was a muggle and had never seen an area infested with so much magic before.

She placed a kiss on Remus's sandy hair. Remus grimace, he didn't want to look dumb on his first day, and tried to push it back into place with his hand.

"I'll be fine, Mum, I swear -"

"I know you will," the tears brimming in her eyes told a different story, though. Remus wasn't surprised; he knew his mother would cry, that's just how she was. It was his father who's reaction he was interested to see.

His eyes were snapping every which way, taking in the rest of the platform. His normally neat-as-a-pin hair that he combed to one side was sticking up in all different directions, no doubt from stress. Remus knew that his father had spent the better part of the last 6 years worrying about him, most importantly, hiding his secret.

"I'm gonna miss you too, dad," he offered. Remus' father had been less-than-enthusiastic about letting him go to school. Lack of a better option had won over though in the end.

"Aw, kiddo," his facade breaking finally, his father bent down to hug him. Remus felt safe on his father's strong arms, and when he finally straightened up, a lump formed in his throat. "You're gonna do fine, I just know it. Lay low, focus on your schoolwork. That's your main priority."

"Alright," Remus bent down to brush dust off his robes - which he had had to buy second hand - but really he was just blinking the tears out of his eyes. He didn't want his father to see him cry when all it would do was prove he shouldn't go to school. Nerves were starting to take over, though, Racking nerves.

"Bye Mum, bye dad," Remus hoisted his trunk off the trolley and started to drag it towards the train. The whistle had just blown - 5 minutes to board. "see you at Christmas."

Remus' mother said a tearful "love you, sweetie," and his father slung his arm around her shoulder, winking at Remus and waving him off with his hand.

After Remus had gotten his trunk on the back of the train, he found a new problem, bigger than leaving his parents on the platform. The compartments were nearly all full by now. He pounded down the hallway, trying to find one with only first-year students; or even better, empty.

Suddenly he rammed into another student, sending Remus backward a few steps.

It was a boy who didn't look much older than he was, to his relief. His hair was dark and messy and stuck up all over the place. Running into Remus had knocked his glasses crooked on his nose.

He straightened them to get a better look. "You might wanna look where you're walking, mate," he said not unkindly.

"Sorry, I was just -" Remus finished breathlessly, realizing he didn't really have an excuse other than panicking.

"No, it's alright," the boy gave Remus a once-over. Suddenly he wished he could curl up in a ball and hide - his robes covered up most of them, but Remus knew that the scar across his nose stood out, even thought he mostly disregarded it. The boy didn't say anything, though. "were you looking for a compartment too?"

"Yeah," he said, feeling grateful. "they're all full."

"Good, now I won't have to look alone," The boy smiled and stuck out his hand. "James Potter."

"Remus Lupin." Remus shook James' hand firmly. "You're in first year too?"

"Yeah," James bit his lip. "my mum's still out there, she asked me to get a window seat so I could wave when the train drove away. Kind of embarrassing, but I mean, she's my mum…" he suddenly looked worried. "I just wish I could find someplace to sit."

Suddenly, the door on the compartment swung open, and a young girl with red hair stuck her head out. She spotted James and Remus standing in the hall and her green eyes widened.

"You two better get in here!" she warned. "The train's about to leave, and everyone needs a seat!"

James rolled his eyes at Remus, who shrugged, At least they had a compartment now.

The red-haired girl wasn't the only one in there, though. She was accompanied by a tall boy with greasy-looking hair and a bad look in his eyes. He grunted in disgust when he saw them sit down across from them, and Remus immediately knew this the kind of kid his father would want him to stay away from.

"It's fine, Severus, they had no place else to sit," chided the girl. She looked at James and Remus. "I'm Lily Evans, and that's Severus Snape. We're both in the first year."

"Me too," said James brightly. He stuck out his hand to Lily, with more enthusiasm than Remus thought necessary. "James Potter."

Remus offered his hand, too. "Remus Lupin."

Lily smiled brightly. "I'm so excited to Hogwarts. I could hardly believe it when i got my letter… both my parents are - what do you call them? - they're muggles. Never knew they had witch blood in them. They were really surprised."

"Both my parents are a witch and a wizard," James said. Remus wasn't listening as he launched into the story of how his father was a retired Ministry man who had met his mother at the 1947 Quidditch World Cup, he was staring at Severus. His eyes were directed out the window and he seemed like he'd rather be anyplace else in the world.

"What about you, Remus?"

"Huh?" Remus started. He had been so busy watching Severus that he had dazed out himself. Now the whole compartment was staring at him, including Severus, who looked strangely interested.

"What about your parents? Muggles or wizards?" Lily repeated.

"My dad's a wizard, my mum's a muggle," Remus said, feeling himself redden. Lily nodded and broke off into a conversation with James about Quidditch - James was explaining the rules to her.

Severus' eyes remained on him. Remus got a sick feeling in his stomach,

 _He's suspicious. He knows something's wrong with you, he sees that scar on your nose. He'll ask you how you got it, you won't be able to answer. Then he'll figure out your secret and you'll be kicked out of Hogwarts…_

This was a bad idea. Remus should've listened his father and stayed home, where it was safe and he wasn't putting anyone in danger.

The compartment started to swirl in and out of focus. Remus had never gotten car-sick before, so he knew this was just nerves. Still…

"I gotta go," he said, standing up abruptly and hurrying out of the compartment. Out in the hallway he brushed his hair out his face and hurried to the back of the train, towards the bathroom.

There he bolted the door shut and collapsed down on the toilet, head in his hands. Now, he wasn't only crying, he was bawling. Maybe this was all a mistake…. Dumbledore's chance to out the werewolf…

He'd end up biting someone, maybe even killing them. Remus couldn't catch his breath. He'd be a killer, finally. He already _was_ a monster… werewolves didn't come up in _20 ot the Most Deadly Creatures of the Wizarding World_ for nothing…

The train was especially shaky in the bathroom. Remus struggled to stand up and grip the sink. He hunched over it, staring at his gaunt face in the mirror. He was so pale the criss-crossing scars on his face stood out even more than normal.

He still couldn't catch his breath. Remus punched the mirror, but to no avail - it only shook slightly.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he yelled, knowing he couldn't be heard over the trains grinding wheels. "This isn't - I can't - _ugh!"_

Someone knocked on the door, Remus froze. Had they heard him after all?

"Hello? Who's in there? I sort of got to pee… really bad…"

Remus wiped the sleeve of his robes over his eyes and swung the door open. He was faced with another boy who looked like he might be in first year - he had hair almost as long and as black as Severus', but not nearly as greasy. He didn't look nearly as mad at the world, either.

He grinned when he saw Remus. "Sorry 'bout that, mate, it's just an emergency." Remus nodded and they swept past each other.

Once again he was alone in the corridor. He slowly made his way back to his compartment, but stopped, however, before going inside. A bang had sounded through the door - through the windows he could see the seats were clouded in some sort of haze.

"James!" shrieked Lily, and Remus pulled the door open.

In the 5 minutes he had been at the bathroom, both James and Severus had hexed one another. Severus' hair was pink and James was holding tightly onto his nose, which Remus could see was 5x it's normal size.

"Oh, thank God," breathed Lily when Remus stepped in. "the only sane one on the train, I think…"

"Hey!" snapped James, looking up quickly and letting go of his swollen nose. "I was provoked! That - that got called that other girl who stopped by here looking for her cat… he called her a mudblood!"

James shuddered and Remus froze. He doubted Lily knew what mudblood meant.

"I would never call _Lily_ that," said Severus defensively, turing up his pointed nose into the air.

"What's it matter?" James went on wildly. "you're just picking favorites, 'cause you want her to like you."

"Stop!" yelled Lily, her green eyes darting between James and Severus. "What'd you call her, Sev? What's a mudblood?"

Remus cringed, and reclaimed his seat next to James, who didn't seem willing to break it to Lily. He could tell he liked her. Severus' mouth flapped open, too. Of course he wasn't going to say anything.

Remus sighed and bit the bullet. "It's a really bad name for someone who - who has muggles for parents. It's like saying they have dirty blood…"

"Oh," Lily's mouth snapped shut, and she looked at Severus. "you didn't really mean that, though, did you, Sev?" she asked much more quietly than before.

"Of course not, Lily," he gave her a big, greasy smile that made Remus' stomach turn. "it's just that girl who stopped by - I heard about her. She's Melicent Westbrook - really annoying. Ravenclaw, thinks she knows everything…"

James sneered. "Don't listen to that dope. He's just trying to cover his tracks…"

"Shut up, James!" Lilly said exasperatedly. "He said he didn't mean it, he said sorry."

But Remus had never heard Severus apologize. He kept his mouth shut, though, and pulled out his Transfiguration textbook from the compartment over his head. He had planned to read on the ride to school anyways.

For the rest of the ride, it was like the compartment had been split in half. Lily and Severus talked to each other, with Lily occasionally throwing a dirty look at James, who tried his best to ignore it. Remus had struck up conversation with him though, and he could tell it bothered him. Maybe it was the wolf that lived inside him - but Remus could always read people's emotions better than he thought was natural. It was almost like - and he hated the very thought - he could smell them.

Things eased up after the trolley witch stopped by their compartment. James and Remus were deep into daring one another with Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, and Severus was introducing Lily to Chocolate Frog Cards. James kept looking at them with unease.

It seemed like things would run smoothly until they arrived at Hogwarts… that was, until, James came across a cricket-flavored bean, thinking it might be caramel.

He stuck his tongue out and gagged. "I'm gonna be sick!" he yelled, bursting through the compartment door and down the corridor towards the bathroom. Remus got the feeling he had an affinity for dramatics.

Now Remus was alone in the compartment with Severus and Lily. He got the feeling Lily didn't mind him; but he still felt awkward, almost scared around her after seeing her lash out at James.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Severus grab one of the Pumpkin Patties from his and Lily's seat. Remus immediately knew he had to stop him. He didn't know why - but something was going to happen if he didn't -

"NO!" he yelled, just before Severus reached into his pocket for his wand. Lily, who had been closely examining a Chocolate Frog Card of Ludo Bagman, jumped.

"What - Remus - ?"

"He was going to curse that candy," Remus said breathlessly, jabbing a finger at Severus, who looked affronted.

"How did you know -"

"I just did," Remus growled, feeling embarrassed. Things like this happened sometimes - he could sense things happening before they did. It was the wolf. All of it was the wolf. And it was only a week away from the full moon… things were especially bad right now… "you were going to do something to it and give it to James.

"You're crazy," Severus said. Remus noticed the anger in his features, topped off with fear. "You're absolutely mental. You really think I would…"

Lily just stared sadly at Remus, not even seeming shocked, just disappointed. He clenched his fists, feeling more abnormal than ever.

James couldn't have chosen a better time to return to the compartment. He waltzed in through the door, and if he suspected anything odd, he didn't show it. "Glad to see your hair's just about the right color again, Snivellus," he quipped lightly. The compartment remained silent. James sat down cautiously next to Remus. "Something happened?"

"Just your friend went mental and accused me of trying to curse you with a Pumpkin Pattie," Severus sneered, his eyes not leaving Remus.

James looked uneasily at Remus, who shrugged. Lily penetrated the harsh silence by waving her hands.

"Stop it! Enough! The train's nearly there, do you three think you might be able to contain yourselves until then? Do you really want to get a detention before you even go to your first class?"

Severus opened his mouth with shock, obviously hating the thought that for once, Lily was working against him. Then he clamped his mouth shut and glared at James and Remus.

"I can if they will."

The rest of the ride, thankfully, was uneventful. Remus made it almost halfway through _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ and was just getting to the chapter about changing objects to animals when the train ground to a stop. Lily muttered, "Thank God," and grabbed her Cloak from the seat, hurrying off the train with Severus close behind her.

James closed _Quidditch Through the Ages._ "I reckon we'd better get off, too."

He and Remus pulled their belongings down from the overhead compartment and squeezed into the crowded corridor. Neither Lily or Severus were in sight, and Remus thought that might be for the better, since there were teachers around now and any hexes would certainly not go unnoticed.

"Move, Sirius, c'mon!"

"Shut up, there are other people in the way!"

Remus turned around and saw a tall, bushy-haired girl towering over a smaller boy - Sirius. On second look he recognized him to be the one he had seen outside of the bathroom.

Sirius saw him, too.

"Hey, it's you!" he called out, waving excitedly. The girl behind him - who Remus chalked up to be his older sister, or something - sneered.

"We're never getting off this bloody train…"

She, however, proved to be wrong. They were closer to the entrance than they had thought. Remus and James spilled out onto the small, cold platform first, shortly followed by Sirius and the girl.

There was a great, tall man to the side of the platform calling out, "First' years! First' years!" Remus stopped and stared, but James approached him confidently.

"That's just Hagrid," he told Remus when he saw him not following. "my cousin told me about him. He's been here forever… not dangerous at all. Just the gamekeeper."

By then, Sirius had caught up with them, smoothing his hair down on the sides of his head. "Hey. That was just my cousin. Bellatrix… she's awful… well, the whole lot of them are." he grinned sideways and stuck out his hand. "I'm Sirius Black."

Introductions were made. Remus noticed that James and Sirius seemed to get on with one another straight away, going on about which Quidditch teams they liked and what houses they wanted to be sorted into.

"My whole family's in Slytherin, but I'm hoping for Gryffindor," Sirius said proudly. He didn't seem to find the fact they the first year students were now climbing into boats at the edge of a huge lake strange at all.

"I heard about the Black family, it's one of the oldest pure-blood families in all of England, isn't it?" James climbed into the boat, right between Remus and Sirius.

"Well, yeah," Sirius looked slightly off-put. "And there all great prats, all of them, obsessing over what type of blood you've got, but I mean, I don't really care…"

Remus stopped listening to the conversation as the boats rounded a corner and Hogwarts came into view. Many other students noticed too; judging by the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' that now surrounded him.

The castle was lit up in the dark night and reflected off the lake proudly. Remus suddenly realized how warm and nice and… welcoming it looked.

Then a thought dawned on him. He hadn't thought about his being a werewolf since he had returned to the compartment to find James had turned Severus' hair pink. It was like it didn't matter. He turned to look at James and Sirius, still gabbing away, and thought that maybe he might even have a shot at being _friends_ with them Keeping his secret a secret couldn't be _so_ hard…

He let his chin rest on his hand as the boats came to a stop and the students climbed out. Remus stared at the moon, which was still in it's waxing stage, but wasn't bothered by it.

 _Ha,_ he thought, _can't get me now._

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